Why it works: Rice and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rice Meringue
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the rice
Boil the rice in water until soft, then drain and cool.
Make the pudding
Add the milk, beaten egg yolks, sugar, and nutmeg (or flavoring) to the rice.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.
Let it cool completely.
Top and brown
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add the sugar and flavoring.
Spread the meringue over the pudding and slightly brown it in the oven.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the body of the pudding, giving it a soft, tender bulk.
- New milk
- Provides liquid that sets with the eggs into a creamy custard texture.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness as they set in the oven.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a stiff foam that forms the light meringue topping.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the meringue brown lightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Egg whites must be whipped to stiff peaks to trap air and hold the meringue's shape. Under-whipped whites will weep or collapse on the pudding, and any trace of yolk or fat will stop them from reaching full volume.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, egg, sugar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Turmericfits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, egg, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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